Additional EUR 12 million allocated for the development of the Bulgaria-Serbia cross-border region

Facilitated cooperation between the two countries, all procedures under the program become electronic

The INTERREG-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Bulgaria-Serbia Program 2014-2020 is crucial to meet our priorities as President of the EU Council for the integration of Western Balkans into the European family. This was announced by Denitsa Nikolova, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, who is chairing the meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the program, held in Sofia today. “In the next six months, efforts will be directed towards achieving more successful results in this regard,” also said the Deputy Minister, adding that this was an important step in strengthening the relationship between the two countries. “Our cooperation has no limits when we strive to achieve common goals, to jointly develop our regions for the purpose of higher achievements and better economic growth,” Nikolova said. She underlined that the projects under the program contribute to the cohesion between the two countries in all aspects – in territorial, economic, and cultural terms.

The results of the cross-border program so far are extremely good, as it became clear during the meeting. To date, 39 projects are being implemented between the two countries for nearly EUR 18.5 million, with more than 50% of the total budget of EUR 34 million contracted. The major part of the projects concern investment, contributing to the development of sustainable tourism in the Bulgaria-Serbia border region, improving and conserving the environment and developing the potential of youth employment and entrepreneurship. By the end of the month, a second call for project proposals for nearly EUR 12 million will be announced. It is expected that the projects will be approved in the autumn and proceed to their implementation.

Deputy Minister Nikolova noted that the application for the new call will be only electronic. “This will facilitate the administrative process, support potential beneficiaries, and increase transparency when submitting projects and evaluating the process at a later stage,” the Deputy Regional Minister explained. In addition, a package of project proposal evaluation criteria is announced to inform beneficiaries on what is assessed and how, on how the evaluation committee reviews each project proposal, aiming to increase trust among applicants. Under the second call for proposals, integrated investment measures will be prioritized and the objective is to achieve a clearer and more visible effect on settlements, hence better results and achievement of the set indicators.

In his speech, Mihailo Dasic, Co-chair of the meeting and Assistant Minister of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, said that cooperation was extremely beneficial for both countries. “Due to the professionalism on both sides of the border, we have great achievements,” he said.